Bengaluru: Families defying home quarantine contributes to new Covid-19 clusters in Yelahanka

Bengaluru: As Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) stepped up micromanagement of Covid-19 cases ahead of a possible second wave, two families residing in the Yelahanka zone were found to be at the heart of two clusters. Incidentally, officials found both these families to have defied home quarantine rules before testing positive for the infection.

One among them was a family that chose to visit ISKCON temple despite being asked to stay indoors by officials of the local civic body governing the Karnataka capital. “All people staying in their apartment building were asked to follow strict home quarantine after a person living in the same building tested positive on March 8, a week after he returned from Kerala,” a senior BBMP official said.

He added, “However, the family broke quarantine rules to visit ISKCON temple on March 9, after which they developed symptoms on March 14. All four members later tested positive on March 16.” BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad, who confirmed the same, added, “This family stays on the first floor but all from the apartment were tested then. A day later (on March 17), two more people from the third floor tested positive. The apartment has 19 residents and test results of others are awaited.”

Meanwhile, seven members of another family residing in BEL Layout tested positive days after they attended a marriage. “One marriage attendee tested positive after which other family members staying in a duplex got tested at Thindlu primary healthcentre. All six of them tested positive on Thursday,” a BBMP official added.

Meanwhile, BBMP identified five more containment zones in the city,– Govardhana Residency, Abhinjna Building BEL Layout, 1st Main Chikkabommasandra (all three in Yelahanka Zone), Admiralty Avenue (East Zone), and Shuva Krupa Nilaya (Dasarahalli Zone) — including these, on Thursday.

As per BBMP’s Covid-19 war room bulletin, the total number of active containment zones is 12 in the city. Bengaluru reported 925 new cases in the last 24 hours, the most among all districts in the state.

Earlier on Thursday, Health Minister K Sudhakar said war rooms will begin operations like how they did during peak pandemic last year, in a bid to enhance micromanagement of coronavirus cases.

“War rooms will start operating to help the government monitor the situation using real-time data. We have also decided to recruit resident doctors and paramedical staff on a temporary basis,” he said. He added that 200 ambulances have been deployed in Bengaluru in case of an emergency situation.

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